| Elvis Costello – My Science Fiction Twin Lyrics | 3 months ago |
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I stood front and centre of the crowd about 15 feet from Elvis at the Albert Hall when he toured this album. At the time I modelled my look on him (I was 17!!) and had thick horn rimmed glasses. I might have imagined it in my fevered adulation but, I swear he looked me in the eye for an inordinate amount of time when he sang this song. Now every time I hear it I think of the time when, for a short spell, I was Elvis’ Science Fiction Twin. I love this song and agree with previous posters. It’s about the personas that famous people have bestowed on them by the media and the general public. The twin is the Elvis that Declan reads about in the tabloids and thinks “I didnt do that….or did I?” |
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| Elvis Costello – Worthless Thing Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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Keep your bloody hands off my life your affectionate fingerprint. Just astounding. It’s got to be about the other Elvis right? He’s name checked and it takes about Union Ave (Memphis), Vegas and the “kings” ransom. I think it’s about how fame destroyed ECs namesake. They committed blue murder (I.E. raised Presley to the point where the pressure was so great he ingested huge quantities of pills) and now the grave robbers are still flogging him to death with tatty souvenirs. Either way, I love this song. Thank you again Elvis (Costello, not Presley). |
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| Elvis Costello – New Lace Sleeves Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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Does he want to be a socialite sister or does he want to be a problem for the socialite sisters? Amazing how he can string a few words together and create a full character in someone’s mind. I am often truly astounded and sometimes even feel breathless when I hear these songs. The layers that you can pick through are the equal of great novels. There is so much going on. I wonder if EC ever reads these comments with a rye chuckle at our fumbling guesses as to what is going on in his mind. Elvis, if you’re reading this, thank you for the music. It’s been a constant companion for me since I was a teenager and has given me so much. I would have made it through without your tunes but it wouldn’t have been as interesting. |
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| Elvis Costello – Love Field Lyrics | 1 year ago |
| I always thought this was about a guy who fancied a woman but she’s off screwing some other guy in a field somewhere OR, a father imaging his daughter having her first sexual experiences outside. | |
| Elvis Costello – You Tripped at Every Step Lyrics | 1 year ago |
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I always this was about a father struggling with his daughter growing up and discovering the “adult” world of drink and drugs. The first verse is about when she is a kid and try’s on her mother shoes. Then she comes home one night and pretends to be sober but has tell tale staggers. She wants to be grown up and he wants her to stay a little girl and they have to find a way to meet in the middle. I knew the song for years before I had my own daughter but then the lyrics pop into my head all time since she was born. I may be wrong because as far as I know, EC has no daughter. Having said that, it wouldn’t be a huge stretch for him to imagine what it is like as a father of a daughter. Also, didn’t he spend some time with Liv Tyler’s mother? Perhaps it’s about her teenage behaviour. |
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| Elvis Costello – Pony St. Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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Agreed although I think there is an element of the parents not caring what the children do because they have already done it all and didn;t suffer any bad consequences. This one coupled with "Tripped at Every Step" makes me think we're getting a glimpse of Elvis' domestic life. I don't really know why but that's what has struck me since I won this album on a radio phone in!! Gotta love Elvis!! |
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| Elvis Costello – Kinder Murder Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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The child went missing could be an abortion but I always imagined it was years later and the illegitmate spawn had gone missing. Jimmy is dishounoured (dishonorable discharge) and reads that his child has gone missing but doesn;t care. The keys from the pile always made me wonder if it was something to do wioth wife swapping where they put their car keys in the middle of the table and then each take one set and go off with the wife of the owner. Not sure as he then goes on to describe a nice car and a dishevelled woman. I love the description of the would be teenage bride in the first two verses. Dressed like a tart and gonig down south. I didn't ever consider the murder to be literal but rather a instant rejection killing her dreams of a life with Jimmy rather than an acceptance of her advances towards marriage followed by the slow, eventual death of their relationship. Like ripping off a plaster (bandaid) quickly to get the pain over with in one go. Maybe. Who the hell knows what's going on in that mans mind. Perhaps the best thing to do is just to stand back and admire it. |
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| Elvis Costello – Watching the Detectives Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| Red Dogs are shoes. They're under legs that are illegal (or another way of saying, a girl with fantastic legs wearing red shoes). | |
| Elvis Costello – You Little Fool Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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A Snowball is a drink made with Advocaat. Generally drunk at Christmas. I think it is also associated with the upper middle classes. I agree with everything that has gone before. A spoilt girl, never wanted for anything. Her head had been turned by a boy but her father doesn't approve. Her mum doesn't care and is on Valium possibly due to the psychological pressures placed on her by her overbearing husband. She compares her love for this guy to the love of her parents and finds that they are very similar. Her father has showered her with gifts. The jewels might not actually be imitations but they are a representaion of a kind of love that money can buy rather than real attention. She can sort of tell that the guys love for her is also an imiatation. He sees other girls but keeps her sweet and she doesn;t care because she feels so good. He wants her phyiscally and she is concerned so she asks her mum for advice. She responds by recommending Valium and telling her that she needs to experiement to learn (possibly a relfecttion of her own experiences). All in all, a story of how inexperience in love can cause young people to do stupid things. A little slice of life almost as if Elvis floated above a town and took the lid off an average house. Describing a cliche of suburbia. Girl meets boy and pins all her hopes on him. It's going to last forever and so she's prepared to give him everything. Father tries to warn her but his anger overcomes him and he doesn;t get through to her. It happens everyday in a million households the world over. Costello is great at making something so mundane in to such a beautiful story. He has written a few songs that show an uncanny insight into the mind of a teenage girl. P.S. I love the video where Elvis plays the stern headmaster. Whilst the story of the video shows part of what I think this is about, I believe that there is a little more to it. The loss of innocence. |
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| Paul McCartney – C Moon Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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L7 is from America. It was first used in Sam The Shams "Wooly Bully". Here is an explanation: "The warning, "Let's not be L-7's"", means "Let's not be squares", from the shape formed by the fingers making an L on one hand and a 7 on the other" When I lived in Liverpool, I thought it was to do with the postcode area "L7" being not so cool. |
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| Paul McCartney – Girlfriend Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Clearly a song by the "other man". Could this possibly relate to Paul and Cynthia's relationship? |
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| Paul McCartney – Mr. Bellamy Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I thought it was about some one who works for him like his gardener or something. I like the Mills anagram thing but I'm always skeptical of things like that. Remember Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds? |
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| Paul McCartney – Wanderlust Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| I read once that this was about the captain of a boat that Paul hired called Wanderlust. He wasn't keen on Paul chonging massive spliffs on board as Paul had famously been incarcerated for drug offences. | |
| Paul McCartney – Kreen-Akrore Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Instrumental. Written after Paul saw a documentary about the Kree-Akrore tribe. | |
| Paul McCartney – Mother Nature's Son Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Macca is Mother Natures Son, hanging about in fields of grass (i.e. his hash farm) and connecting with nature. | |
| Paul McCartney – Dear Boy Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This was to do with the fact that Paul fancied Cynthia and had to watch John throw away what Paul had essentially envied since they were teenagers. There is a story about Macca turning up at Cynthia's house with a bunch of flowers when the divorce was finalised and saying something like "How about you and me Cyn?" Possibly they got together before or after the divorce: When I stepped in, my heart was down and out, But her love came through and brought me 'round, |
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| Paul McCartney – Monkberry Moon Delight Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A lot of the other songs on RAM are directed towards John Lennon and their famous public slanging match using messages coded in songs ("Dear Boy", "How Do You Sleep" etc.) Because of this I thought some of these lines were part of that. The pajamas and Billy Budapest could possibly be some sort of sideways comment in reply to John's "Giving all your clothes to charity" and the letter that Paul fails to get the jist of could be a personal note from John or something along those lines. Also, I thought "Ketchup" was a sort of pun when coupled with "Don't get left behind" (i.e. Catch Up). Slightly off the wall - Monkberry Moon Delight could be "fame" and the Paul gazed at the terrible sight of two youngsters trapped in a confined space (Beatlemania) and grabbing as much fame as possible despite the fact that it would ultimately destroy their friendship. Paul is excellent at hiding the intended meaning in imagery and convoluted reference. This is a brilliant example of why he's a genius. |
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